One of the most famous Loyola Ramblers athletes is basketball player Jerry Harkness. He played for Loyola in the early 1960s and was a key member of the team that won the NCAA championship in 1963. Harkness was also a trailblazer, as he and his teammates helped to break down racial barriers in college basketball by playing an integrated style of basketball and winning the championship with four African-American starters. Harkness went on to have a successful professional career and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.